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Biting drought ravages livelihoods in Isiolo

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Mr David Luis from Mlima Chui, Oldonyori ward. PHOTO | POOL

About 100 kilometres east of Isiolo town, is Kulamawe, loosely translating to eat stones in English. Just as the name suggests, the land is bare, with small rocks and scattered acacia shrubs.

On our way, we occasionally come across a herd of goats and sheep led by two or three young men and donkeys carrying water containers.

Weary and dusty under the hot sun, Covid-19 would be the last worry for these young men.

In one homestead in Kulamawe, about six goats and sheep are resting, and the owner says they couldn’t accompany the rest due to their weak state. They cannot withstand the trekking distance- about 30 km one way to the grazing area.

The prolonged dry spell has depleted nearly all pastures, threatening pastoralism which is the main source of livelihood for majority of the residents.

According to Mr Abdul Salesa, chairman Kulamawe Grazing Committee, the community is in the drought-reserve area, which they set in foot in June earlier than the expected time in October.

It operates three areas for pastures - wet season grazing areas, dry season grazing areas and drought-reserve area.

About 10 years ago, the area received two rainy seasons - short rains between October to December and long rains in March to May.

Mr Salase said the last time they had rains was in April, for only three days.

“We used to enter drought-reserve areas in October before it rains and return to the wet season grazing area in mid October when the rains poured. But in the past five years, we have been entering drought-reserve in June or July,” he says.

Kulamawe is served by one borehole, meaning water is constantly pumped for use by households and animals, but the challenge is livestock feed.

“Due to climate change and the frequent drought those pastures and forages cannot grow. It’s like every year there is drought.”

“Once we enter into those drought reserve areas as early as in June, we are in danger. They are depleted. If rain does not fall in the next 15 to 20 days, these animals will be dropping.”

“The pain of drought has increased. Sheep and goats are being returned to the homesteads because they cannot withstand the distance as they don’t have energy.”

Herders have been forced to seek supplementary feeds such as pellets, sorghum and acacia pods or feed them human food like maize to save the lives of their source of livelihoods.

Still, the availability of acacia ponds is reduced on the short lived rains.

“Herders are trying to look for other ways for sustenance. We have to buy the acacia ponds. A 100kg bag of acacia ponds or pellets from Rapsu cost Sh1,500 and that’s not counting the transportation cost. Those who can’t afford, give them maize,” Mr Salesa adds.

One hundred kilogrammes of pellets can feed five sheep for three to four weeks or 20 goats for two days.

To afford those feeds -sorghum, pods or pellets, some households sell their livestock.

And even then, the earnings are not enough to cater for other needs due to the low prices of the animals owing to their poor condition. This has seen majority of the residents struggle to afford food.

In the face of such scarcity, cases of malnutrition among both young ones and the aged due to dependency on livestock products like milk and meat for nutrition have risen.

A big goat that could sell at Sh10,000 now is priced at Sh6,000.

“The buyers are not willing to buy from herders because of the risk. With the prolonged drought, we have released as a pastoral community, the hides and skin are more important than the animal. The buyer will just tell you, since the animal is weak, to go remove the skin and sell them.”

The hides fetch Sh100 to Sh150.

“Pastoralists economic living is in crisis due to climate change,” Mr Salesa adds.

In Garbatula, 43-year-old Isaack Halkano with five children and taking care of two more from his sister, has lost 20 goats out of the 40 he had to the crisis.

“Since I was born, I have only seen this kind of drought on two times. I need to spend Sh500 on food daily but even when sometimes I sell my livestock, I can’t have that money,” Mr Halkano says.

On west side of Isiolo town, in Mlima Chui, stone-dry hill, the air carries the stench of animal carcases.

Mr David Luis, who is disabled and a father of three children has lost three cows and six goats to the drought. He is now left with 10 goats.

At the backyard of his home, a carcass of a cow is rotting away.

“One cow was eaten by a lion while grazing and another died because it was weak to even get back here. Every homestead here has an animal carcass,” points out Mr Luis.

“Even if I could try and sell the remaining goats it could only be around Sh1,500 below the Sh3,000 I normally sell in Oldonyiro market.

Due to several droughts, in 2018 he resorted to keeping chicken hopefully to sell eggs to sustain his household income.

Just like Kulamawe, Oldonyiro is filled with rocks, making it hard to support farming. The residents are hoping the rain will fall come this month.

Worse market conditions

The community in these areas is predominantly pastoralists depending on rearing of cows, goats, sheep and camels for income.

The drought is pushing most people in these rural areas into worse conditions, undermining their living standards.

For most of these areas, it is a poverty and drought crisis.

“People are complaining a lot. If they are struggling to buy food, what else can they buy?” Poses Mr Ali Dagane, 36- year-old who runs a shop in the Garbatulla market, far off Kulamawe.

“Most of the people here are living in poverty. They don’t have jobs and food to see them through this drought period, and the food prices are constantly rising. I think it is better living in Nairobi,” he adds just as a middle-aged woman walks in his shop to ask to wash clothes at his home for pay. Mr Dagane, however asks her to check on the next Monday.

Mr Dagane buys stock from Maua, 80km from the market.

He says most of the residents rely on construction jobs, herding, and other menial jobs to feed their families. But those jobs are almost non-existent now.

“Out of the five people who walk in here, two people are asking for items for free. They say today ‘I have not cooked for my children’, they don’t promise to pay later because they don’t have the jobs. They are not getting jobs.”

We are going under

“Before with Sh200, you could buy food for the whole day.”

Cooking oil measured in a 200ml container now costs Sh60 from Sh40 two months ago. One kilogramme of maize flour, which could feed a family of six, has increased to Sh70 from Sh50.

Ms Amina Alsime, who runs Umoja Generals shop, buys 20 litres of cooking oil at Sh4,100.

While in Nairobi markets cabbage goes for Sh30 or Sh40, in Isiolo traders buy a piece at Sh60 and sell it at Sh70.

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Cows left in the homestead due to their weak state. PHOTO | POOL

“I feel we are going under. If I had money I would add my stock. I have educated six children using income from this shop, but nowadays its tough and they are yet to get jobs in Nairobi,” Ms Alsime says.

“Since Covid-19 hit, business is slow and money is not coming as before. We don’t have good farms like other villages to cultivate. We are depending on livestock which we used to sell for food when it gets tough or buy school uniform, but now it is becoming bad,” says Ms Habiba Salad, a mother of four who sells miraa in the market.

Livestock banking

‘’The need is evident. We have had Covid-19, locust and three-failed rains which have built up the situation, leading to vulnerability,” World Food Programme head of refugee and relief operations, Mr Felix Okech said.

“The situation is bad. There is dire need for preparedness action to mitigate cycles of drought crisis before it happens. We are looking for resources to respond to this.”

The herders are hoping for provision of supplementary feeds as part of intervention that could save the community which depended livestock for survival.

This also include livestock banking - where national or county government, private organisation or other actors sustain the livestock on behalf of the herders during stress period and return after recovery for a fee.

“The livestock banking has been applied in Wajir County and it could also work here. Most of responses or interventions for the cycles of drought come when the animals have died and they lack long term vision,” Mr Salesa adds.